First Look: Inside American’s 787-9 Dreamliner

The first Boeing 787-9 was rolled out of the factory back in 2013. In August of the following year, the variant entered commercial service with All Nippon Airways. In 2014, United Airlines became the first US-based airline to pick up the 787-9. American took delivery of their first of 21 787-9s in early September.

Outside

The outside of any new airplane is always visually stunning, but there was something more majestic about this 787-9; the late afternoon light didn’t hurt the view at all.

Plus, look at that beautiful GEnx engine.

Inside

After a walk-around, we headed up the air stairs to door 1L, right behind the cockpit.

One of my favorite features of the cockpit is the “787 Dreamliner” plaque above the seats.

Business Class

As we moved back into the cabins, I took a long look at American’s new business class product. This product is different from the airline’s 787-8. The 30 business class seats are in a reverse-herringbone configuration. The large cabin has eight rows, one of which is missing the two seats in the middle section.

Premium Economy

This is the first aircraft to feature American’s new premium economy product. This cabin occupies the area used up by the last two rows of business class on the 787-8, right behind door 2L

The seats are in a 2-3-2 configuration, and are noticeably wider than the typical economy product. There is a footrest attached for every seat, which combined with the seats’ recline would make for a very comfortable flight.

Economy

The economy product is virtually the same as the product on American’s 787-8s. The seats are still in a 3-3-3 configuration, and the only difference is the number of seats on the airplane.

We also had the chance to operate some of the controls on the Dreamliner. We played with the lighting and window controls, both master and individual. My favorite was the “AA Party,” seen below.

Unfortunately, our time on the 787-9 was coming to a close, and we were forced to say goodbye to this new “AAmazing” bird. The aircraft is expected to begin service to Madrid and Sao Paulo beginning on November 4.

This story was updated on Sunday, April 1 at 12:08 p.m. ET. The 787-9’s business class seats are not one of a kind, as they are also on some of the carrier’s 777-200 aircraft.

Parker joined AirlineGeeks as a writer and photographer in 2016, combining his longtime love for aviation with a newfound passion for journalism. Since then, he’s worked as a Senior Writer before becoming Editor-in-Chief of the site in 2020. Originally from Dallas and an American frequent flyer, he left behind the city’s rich aviation history to attend college in North Carolina, where he’s studying economics.

Parker joined AirlineGeeks as a writer and photographer in 2016, combining his longtime love for aviation with a newfound passion for journalism. Since then, he’s worked as a Senior Writer before becoming Editor-in-Chief of the site in 2020. Originally from Dallas and an American frequent flyer, he left behind the city’s rich aviation history to attend college in North Carolina, where he’s studying economics.